The study of materials used in the built environment has long attracted significant research efforts, with a continuous growth over the last few decades. Mineralogy has been pivotal in these studies, spanning from the analysis of the different mineral components of both natural stone and earthen structures, and man-made plasters, mortars, cements, and ceramics (bricks), to their weathering and conservation. In this EJM special issue we strive to gather cutting-edge, high-quality research on all the different aspects where mineralogy plays a role in the analysis of the broad variety of materials used in the built environment, both ancient and modern. We seek studies with a focus on one or several of the following aspects:

• mineralogical analysis of natural and man-made building materials. In particular, studies on the analysis of mineral components of different building materials, as well as the phase evolution in cementitious materials (e.g., during processing and setting of lime mortars, gypsum plaster, or cement/concrete), as well as ceramics (e.g., phase evolution during firing of bricks);
• evaluation of mineralogical changes undergone by such building materials due to physical and chemical weathering, as well as biodeterioration. In particular, the mechanisms that lead to degradation involving phase transformation (dissolution and precipitation) and/or new formation (e.g., salt weathering), as well as clay-related damage (swelling and shrinking);
• mineralogical analysis of inorganic conservation materials, their application, and evaluation of their effectiveness.

These studies should focus on both traditional and novel materials used in the protection and conservation of the built heritage, including but not limited to lime-, silica-, oxalate-, and phosphate-based materials (e.g., nanolimes, alkoxysilanes, among others).

Melt inclusions in natural rocks are an invaluable asset for geoscientists, as they grant access to the deep melt-related processes responsible for Earth’s evolution and chemical differentiation. In particular, these droplets provide hard quantitative data necessary to quantify a wealth of processes of great impact for all humankind. In magmatic rocks they allow us to track magma genesis and evolution at variable depth to understand the timescale of magma chamber dynamics as well as to better assess the risk related to volcanic eruptions. In metamorphic rocks, they shed light on melt production and melt-rock interaction in the deepest roots of collisional orogens and offer a natural mainstay for the refinement of global-scale volatile cycles. In the field of economic geology melt inclusions, studies can deliver crucial insights for the formation of ore deposits which constitute the foundations of our post-industrial society. Finally, experimental petrology on melt inclusion formation and evolution provides hard constraints to better interpret the results of natural studies. In this volume we aim to provide a comprehensive view of the latest developments of this fertile and still full-of-potential field, in view of the steadily increasing availability of high-resolution imaging and microanalytical techniques during the first 2 decades of the new millennium.

Specific topics include magmatism (volcanism, plutonism), metamorphism/partial melting, ore deposits (porphyry copper deposits, pegmatites), different host minerals (quartz, olivine, zircon, garnet), and experimental approaches.

Melt inclusions in natural rocks are an invaluable asset for geoscientists, as they grant access to the deep melt-related processes responsible for Earth’s evolution and chemical differentiation. In particular, these droplets provide hard quantitative data necessary to quantify a wealth of processes of great impact for all humankind. In magmatic rocks they allow us to track magma genesis and evolution at variable depth to understand the timescale of magma chamber dynamics as well as to better assess the risk related to volcanic eruptions. In metamorphic rocks, they shed light on melt production and melt-rock interaction in the deepest roots of collisional orogens and offer a natural mainstay for the refinement of global-scale volatile cycles. In the field of economic geology melt inclusions, studies can deliver crucial insights for the formation of ore deposits which constitute the foundations of our post-industrial society. Finally, experimental petrology on melt inclusion formation and evolution provides hard constraints to better interpret the results of natural studies. In this volume we aim to provide a comprehensive view of the latest developments of this fertile and still full-of-potential field, in view of the steadily increasing availability of high-resolution imaging and microanalytical techniques during the first 2 decades of the new millennium.

Specific topics include magmatism (volcanism, plutonism), metamorphism/partial melting, ore deposits (porphyry copper deposits, pegmatites), different host minerals (quartz, olivine, zircon, garnet), and experimental approaches.

The study of materials used in the built environment has long attracted significant research efforts, with a continuous growth over the last few decades. Mineralogy has been pivotal in these studies, spanning from the analysis of the different mineral components of both natural stone and earthen structures, and man-made plasters, mortars, cements, and ceramics (bricks), to their weathering and conservation. In this EJM special issue we strive to gather cutting-edge, high-quality research on all the different aspects where mineralogy plays a role in the analysis of the broad variety of materials used in the built environment, both ancient and modern. We seek studies with a focus on one or several of the following aspects:

• mineralogical analysis of natural and man-made building materials. In particular, studies on the analysis of mineral components of different building materials, as well as the phase evolution in cementitious materials (e.g., during processing and setting of lime mortars, gypsum plaster, or cement/concrete), as well as ceramics (e.g., phase evolution during firing of bricks);
• evaluation of mineralogical changes undergone by such building materials due to physical and chemical weathering, as well as biodeterioration. In particular, the mechanisms that lead to degradation involving phase transformation (dissolution and precipitation) and/or new formation (e.g., salt weathering), as well as clay-related damage (swelling and shrinking);
• mineralogical analysis of inorganic conservation materials, their application, and evaluation of their effectiveness.

These studies should focus on both traditional and novel materials used in the protection and conservation of the built heritage, including but not limited to lime-, silica-, oxalate-, and phosphate-based materials (e.g., nanolimes, alkoxysilanes, among others).